Trouble-finder for internal-combustion engines



G. P. CASTRO.

TROUBLE FINDER FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 22, 1920. 1,378,937. Patented May 24, 1921.

2 S.HEETSSHEET I.

In ven tor:

G. P. CASTRO.

TROUBLE FINDER FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE22. 1920.

78,937, Patented May 24, 1921.

2 SHEET-SLSHEET 2.

. Inventor: 6%... 34. M4

% Atfy PATEN 1' OFFICE.

' GUILLERMO PEREZCASTRO, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

TROUBLE-FINDER FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GUILLERMO PEREZ CASTRO, a subject of the Kingdom of Spain, residing in New York city, State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Trouble-Finders for Internal- CombustionEngines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe same.

The present invention consists of apparatus adapted to locate functional. defects in any one or all of the cylinders of a multicylinder internal combustion engine, and

- more particularly an automobile or aeroplane engine. The function of the apparatus is to short circuit the spark plugs of all of the cylinders with the exception of that under observation, so that the action of the cylinder which is functioning may be obseryed and'its defects noted.

The device will,be understood, by reference -to the accompanying drawings, in which, 1

Figure 1 is an elevation in cross section of the apparatus;

Fig.2 is a diagrammatic viewillustrating the actionofthe apparatus;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 3-3, Fig. 1;

Fig. 4'15; a side elevation ratus;

Figs. 5 and 6 are, respectively, front and rear elevations of the apparatus, and, I

Fig. 7 is a detail view of a conducting wire and means for connecting the same to of the appaa spark plug terminal.

Referring to Fig. 2 it will be seen that the apparatus consists of a series of contacts corresponding to the number of cylinders of the engine for which the apparatus is adapted, these contacts being in the present instance numbered 16 inclusive, and each contact being electrically connected to the spark plug of its appropriate cylinder by means of a conductor wire 7. The contacts 1-6 inclusive, are arranged radially of the axis of a rotatable .disk 8 which disk is grounded by means of conductor wire 9. In its position as shown in Fig.2, the disk 8 short-circuits .all ofthe six spark plugs and hence all of the cylinders of the engine are thrown out of action.' It will be seen, however, that rotation of disk 8 in the direction of the arrow will carry the disk into such position that the cutaway portion thereof indicated by numeral 8 will free contact 1 from engage- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 24, 1921.

'Application filed June 22, 1920. Serial No. 390,782.

ment with the disk,

permitted to function/ Thus by rotating the disk 8, each one of the six contacts will be exposed in succession, and by moving the disk to the required position any one of the cylinders will be free for operating to the exclusion of the remainmga cylinders.

eferring to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the contacts 16 inclusive, are carried in a housing, each contact being formed with an extension 10 which projects beyond the wall 11 of the housing, so that an appropriate one of the conductors 7 may be led therefrom into engagement with the appropriate "spark plug. An additional connection 12 is provided for the ground wire 8 which in practice will be led. to aground connection. Thecontact disk 8 is mounted on the squared end of a shaft 13, the shaft being provided with two bearing apertures, one formed in a hand-piece 14, and the other in a plate 15 secured to the hand piece. The shaft 13 is provided with a thumb piece 13*, by means of which it may be moved endwise to bring contact. plate 8 into engagement with the contacts 16. The shaft 13 is moved in a reverse direction to carry disk 8 out of! engagement with the contacts 1-6 by means of a spring 14, one end of the latter acting against stop 16 secured to the shaft 13, and the other end engaging a raised portion 15 of plate 15, The contactdisk 8 is rotated step by step by the following mechanism: Secured to shaft 13 is a plate 17 which may be provided with ratchet teeth or formed with the apertures 18 to be engaged by the end of a pawl 19, the said pawl being pivotally connected at 20 to a lever 21, the said lever, in turn being pivotally connected at 22 to the plate 11' carried by hand-piece 14. The pawl is maintained in yielding engagement with the ratchet member 18 'by means of a spring 23, and the lever 21 is maintained in normal position that is to say, the position in which it is shown in Fig. 1, by means of a spring 24. The lever 21 is formed with a triggerlike extension 21 by means of which it may be operatedto actuate the pawl 19. Lever 21 is formed with an upwardly extending arm a, which is adapted to engage a shoulder projecting laterally from stop 16 carried by shaft 13, so that when the trigger 2l -is step, but moves the disk forwardly into engagement with the desired contacts to shortcircuit all of the spark plugs with the exception of that for the cylinder to be placed under observation. The ratchet plate 17 is yielding ly maintained in the position to which it is nfoved, by means of a latch 25, the latter being carried'by a spring 26 secured to the plate 15. It will be seen that the conducting wires leading from contacts 16 pass through apertures formed in a cap member 9 frictionally secured to the housing 9, and that both the cap member and the housing are removably secured to the hand-- piece l l by means of a bail 27.

In the operation of the device, the movement of trigger 21 by the operator will simultaneously rotate contact disk 8 and advance the said disk toward the contacts 16, until the disk engages the desired contacts. Thereupon current leading to the spark plugs corresponding to the contacts engaged by the disk 8, will be short-circuited through the disk, thence through shaft 13, plate 15, conductors 28 and 12,'and thence by grounded wire 9 to the engine frame or other ground member. piece 13*, shown in elevation in Fig. 6, the said .thumb piece bearing numbers corresponding to contacts 1-6, shaft 7, may be rotated independently of lever 21 and trigger 21*, and may also be moved endwise to bring the plate intoengagement with the desired contacts.

In Fig. 7 I have illustrated a conducting wire so formed at its tip that it may be very easily connected to the terminal of the spark plug, without detaching the distributer wire connected to the latter.

It will be understood, that various modifications in the embodiment of the device illustrated in the drawings may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention. By varying the number of contacts the device may be adapted for operating in connection with any required multiple of cylinders.

What I claim is 1. In a device of the character described, a series of contacts adapted to be electrically connected to the spark plugs of a multicylinder engine, a plate adapted to be By means of thumb.

grounded, a shaft carrying the said plate, and means for rotating and reciprocating the shaft to move the plate into and out of engagement with specific contacts.

2. In a device of the character described,

- a series of contacts adapted to be electrically connected with the spark plugs of a multicylinder engine, a. plate adapted to be grounded, and means forimparting rotative and bodily shifting movements to the plate to move the same into and out of enparting step by step rotative movements to the plate.

4:. In a device of the character described a support, a series of contacts held by said support and adapted to beelectrically connected with the spark plug of a multi-cylin der engine, a plate adapted to be grounded, means for normally holding said plate out of engagement with said contacts including a shaft and a spring engaging the latter,

- and a device adapted to simultaneously impart rotative and endwise movements to the shaft.

device of the character described,

5. In a device of the character described a support, a. series of contacts held by said support and adapted to be electrically connected with the spark plugs of a multi-cylinder engine, a plate adapted to be grounded, means for holding said plate normally out of engagement with said contacts including a shaft, a lever adapted to actuate the shaft to engage the plate with the contacts, and apawl actuated by said lever for rotating the plate. g

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

PEREZ CASTRO GUILLERMO. Witnesses K W. LEE HEL s,

ABRAHAM S. VAN. HORN. 

